While We Were Sleeping Success Stories in Injury and Violence Prevention [Paperback]

Public health has made our lives saferbut it often works behind the scenes, without our knowledge, that is, while we are sleeping. This book powerfully illuminates how public health works with more than sixty success stories drawn from the area of injury and violence prevention. It also profiles dozens of individuals who have made important contributions to safety and health in a range of social arenas. Highlighting examples from the United States as well as from other countries,While We Were Sleepingwill inform a wide audience of readers about what public health actually does and at the same time inspire a new generation to make the world a safer place.

David Hemenwayis Professor of Health Policy at the Harvard School of Public Health, Director of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center, and Director of the Harvard Youth Violence Prevention Center. His previous books includePrivate Guns, Public Health.

While We Were Sleepingbrings the stories of injury prevention alive. The stories link research to successful advocacy for change and highlight the need to translate datato put a face on itin order to make change. These are stories of creativity, courage, and commitment.Linda C. Degutis, DrPH, MSN, Yale University

'While we were sleeping,' things were happeninggood things!that most of us were not aware of. Injuries of almost all kinds, to children, teenagers, elderly, disabled, and ordinary folks were being drastically reduced. David Hemenway documents this progress, some of it in the nineteenth century, most of it in our lifetimes, with analysis of what brought it about and, in some cases, who the heroes were. It's exhilarating to readinstructive and exhaustively documented by an author who has devoted a career to this kind of analysis. Thomas C. Schelling, 2005 Nobel Laureate in Economics, Harvard University

I wish I had written this book. It is astute, inspiring, full of fal³!